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1
Posted on 6/20/23 at 11:44 pm to Scoob
I picked a 6950 xt up at bestbuy last month for $650 (sidegrade from a 3080 ti that I ended up transferring to the build I made for my wife). You can easily get a cheaper CPU too. Alienware was cheaper than building your own back in 2021 but now that things have normalized it is better to build your own.
Edit: You could easily run a 5800x3d along with a 4070, 4070 ti, or 6950 xt and build around that and spend less money. Also 1000 is overkill for the PSU. I think you could manage with 850W.
Edit: You could easily run a 5800x3d along with a 4070, 4070 ti, or 6950 xt and build around that and spend less money. Also 1000 is overkill for the PSU. I think you could manage with 850W.
This post was edited on 6/20/23 at 11:51 pm
Posted on 6/20/23 at 11:58 pm to Joshjrn
Basically this. People only factor in the opportunity cost. The parts are also lower quality and there is more room for upgrading when you build your own. Also I grabbed an alienware in early 2021 to get me by while I waited for the market to stabilize and that thing was compact AF and had the fans running constantly. Was so loud.
Posted on 6/21/23 at 12:30 am to Joshjrn
quote:did you click that link? I think it's supposed to be the parts I selected in the build, using that service.
I would still be curious to see how you made it to nearly $2,400 for a similarly spec’d system when I spec’d out a better one for $1,600.
Oh well, I'm not into a pissing contest here.
Hopefully it won't be as disappointing as everyone makes it out to be. If it is, live and learn.
Posted on 6/21/23 at 8:08 am to Scoob
quote:
did you click that link? I think it's supposed to be the parts I selected in the build, using that service.
Last post on the page and I simply never saw it. My fault
So to break down our price differences:
CPU: You've migrated to a 12900f instead of the k sku, the former of which is both inferior and $80 more expensive at the moment.
Cooler: I actually spent an extra $20 to get a vastly superior cooler
Motherboard: We can quibble over motherboard value, but the short of it is that the motherboard you're getting in your R13 isn't as good as the $130 board I picked, and not in the same league as the $280 board you picked. So that $150 of your budget is just ash
RAM: I spec'd out a DDR4 system while you spec'd out a DDR5 system. Your OP didn't specify RAM generation. There's an extra $30 here towards your budget assuming you were correct on it, so it could go either way. But maybe confirm on your shipping page what RAM you're actually getting?
Storage: Basically a wash
GPU: Here's your big mistake. You're spending nearly $950 of this budget on an RTX 3080 10GB that is a staggeringly bad value in 2023, and I say that as someone who owns a 3080 (albeit I paid $700 for it long ago). The 6950xt I chose for $630 is a superior card in practically every application. And if you do want to spend $950 on a GPU right now, there are significantly better options. This is a gap of $320 here for not only no reason, but a net negative.
Case: You spent an extra $50 here, which isn't necessary, but fine. With that said, the case I chose is vastly better than the R13's, so this is another category like the motherboard in which you're getting a significant upgrade in your spec'd build over what you bought, so the price increase isn't particularly fair.
PSU: We picked the same one, which will likely be significantly better quality than what comes in your R13, though I would be curious to see what you get.
OS: I would never spend $100 on Windows home, but I get some people don't want to deal with free/cheaper Windows installations, so I won't quibble.
For the record, I didn't just type all that to shite on you or your purchase. You've done what you're going to do. But if anyone comes back over this thread in the future, I wouldn't want them looking at things through a lens that I don't know is ideal for them
Posted on 6/21/23 at 10:27 am to Joshjrn
quote:
OS: I would never spend $100 on Windows home, but I get some people don't want to deal with free/cheaper Windows installations, so I won't quibble.
Last 3 I've built I've went with kinguin for a key and never had an issue. Windows 10 Professional is $27.71 right now. I understand that some people don't like to fool with making a boot usb and installing but it would shave off $70.00 and does not take too long to install.
Edit: Plus it removes the need for a disc drive.
This post was edited on 6/21/23 at 10:29 am
Posted on 6/21/23 at 10:40 am to Scoob
You've selected high-end non-proprietary parts as a replacement. 
I see you already bought it, so...
Not to mention a 3080 for over 900. You could get a 4070 for 600.
It is what it is. Not the worst thing you could've bought. But still could've gotten other pre-builds for cheaper and better quality.
I see you already bought it, so...
Not to mention a 3080 for over 900.
You could get a 4070 for 600. It is what it is. Not the worst thing you could've bought. But still could've gotten other pre-builds for cheaper and better quality.
This post was edited on 6/21/23 at 11:12 am
Posted on 6/21/23 at 10:58 am to hoojy
quote:
But still could've gotten other pre-builds for cheaper and better quality.
Not to derail the thread, but any chance you could provide a couple of links as examples?
Sincerely,
"Console gamer who wants to get a gaming PC but has no idea what a good pre-built looks like"
Posted on 6/21/23 at 11:02 am to Sl0thstronautEsq
quote:
Not to derail the thread, but any chance you could provide a couple of links as examples?
Honestly, you’re still better off just buying all your parts and paying someone locally to assemble it and configure it for you…. You get the added benefit of having a truly custom PC spec’d EXACTLY the way you want it, and the person you pay to assemble it is local, so if there are any issues you know who to call and can get it looked at quickly again (usually places will offer a window/warranty period in case any issues post build)
Posted on 6/21/23 at 11:06 am to Sl0thstronautEsq
Use this link.
LINK
There have been some 7700x and 4070 builds that can go as low as 1500. It's Skytech, so not something great, but it's at least standard and uses better parts. Although, not much better parts.
If you're wanting a really good deal, maybe check out your local PC repair shop. They should offer you a really good warranty on everything.
Although, not all places have the competition.
LINK
There have been some 7700x and 4070 builds that can go as low as 1500. It's Skytech, so not something great, but it's at least standard and uses better parts. Although, not much better parts.
If you're wanting a really good deal, maybe check out your local PC repair shop. They should offer you a really good warranty on everything.
Although, not all places have the competition.
Posted on 6/21/23 at 11:08 am to hoojy
Thank you LSUGent and hoojy!
Posted on 6/21/23 at 11:10 am to LSUGent
And yes, have the baw pick out parts for you. It shouldn't be over 150( I wouldn't think) and it should come with a good warranty.
Help keep the lights on for a small business.
Help keep the lights on for a small business.
Posted on 6/21/23 at 9:21 pm to Scoob
Alienware prices are too high because you’re paying a pretty decent markup on the brand.
If you really don’t want to build your own PC there are better sites for custom builds than Alienware
If you really don’t want to build your own PC there are better sites for custom builds than Alienware
Posted on 6/22/23 at 6:26 am to hoojy
This link I posted has some good deals.
For example
Edit: It should be 699.
For example
Edit: It should be 699.
This post was edited on 6/22/23 at 6:46 am
Posted on 6/23/23 at 11:25 am to Sl0thstronautEsq
quote:
"Console gamer who wants to get a gaming PC but has no idea what a good pre-built looks like"
Just build it yourself. It's fun and not hard. Wealth of resources nowadays and plenty of posters on here who can help you with any potential issues.
Posted on 6/23/23 at 1:13 pm to MetroAtlantaGatorFan
So, it came in yesterday, a couple thoughts.
Noise... actually, that thing was silent. My son remarked a couple times on that; didn't get it up and gaming yet so that issue remains to be seen. Our current desktops, the fans are more aubible during low-end usage. I did hear things cycle up during a troubleshooting session- which I will address.
Included in price is 1 yr premium support. That paid out last night, day one.
I said his speakers were Bose, it's not; it's a Harman Kardan surround system. No built in speakers on the monitor.
Well, you could hear the 'ding' adjusting the volume bar on Windows control, but it was silent otherwise, streaming or other stuff. We fricked with it awhile, I don't remember what all we checked, but it wasn't simple. Son getting furious and I was pissed and disappointed.
No, it wasn't an easy fix...
anyway I called their number, got tech support. Long story short, they got it fixed. Yay it runs like it should.
Longer version, we weren't dumbasses... the gal walked us through a bunch of stuff, which were basic for the most part- and didn't fix.
I then let her remote access, and it ended up taking 2 hours from that point, with us on speakerphone, talking to her, and after the first hour seeing 2 other people's login on remote access. New drivers, reloading drivers, reinstalling a few Alienware things, doing a bunch of Windows things, yada yada.
I spoke to Prijanta and saw her access, at some point Vijay and someone else doing remote too going into Windows system stuff, BIOS stuff, Eufi stuff, nvidia, Harman Kardan, something called Waves Maxx Pro from Windows;
A bit after midnight (!) we rebooted for about the 10th time, she opened up a youtube video and we had sound. It was some obscure system32 setting on allowing quadraphonic speakers to back channel, accessed via a control prompt. After doing dozens of other things, so that might have been the last piece of the puzzle.
It wasn't hardware, headphones or other speakers weren't working either until then. Don't know if it was a Dell, Windows, or 3rd party thing, but I can damn sure tell you I would not have found it. And I am not lost fricking around making Linux run stuff run.
Bad: we expect Plug-and-Play in this day and age.
Good: I was sorta expecting an RMA slip to be sent, especially after the first few minutes. I thought we'd go through the motions on a few "you must be retarded, please turn on the speaker power and plug it into the correct port" directions... but we very quickly got past that point.
By the end of the night, once it was fixed and running, I was relieved and impressed. You ain't getting the guys from Computer Heaven on the phone, doing remote-access work for 2+ hours after 10pm on a Thursday, after I watched the end of the LSU-Wake Forest baseball game.
Amazing customer/tech support.
Noise... actually, that thing was silent. My son remarked a couple times on that; didn't get it up and gaming yet so that issue remains to be seen. Our current desktops, the fans are more aubible during low-end usage. I did hear things cycle up during a troubleshooting session- which I will address.
Included in price is 1 yr premium support. That paid out last night, day one.
I said his speakers were Bose, it's not; it's a Harman Kardan surround system. No built in speakers on the monitor.
Well, you could hear the 'ding' adjusting the volume bar on Windows control, but it was silent otherwise, streaming or other stuff. We fricked with it awhile, I don't remember what all we checked, but it wasn't simple. Son getting furious and I was pissed and disappointed.
No, it wasn't an easy fix...
anyway I called their number, got tech support. Long story short, they got it fixed. Yay it runs like it should.
Longer version, we weren't dumbasses... the gal walked us through a bunch of stuff, which were basic for the most part- and didn't fix.
I then let her remote access, and it ended up taking 2 hours from that point, with us on speakerphone, talking to her, and after the first hour seeing 2 other people's login on remote access. New drivers, reloading drivers, reinstalling a few Alienware things, doing a bunch of Windows things, yada yada.
I spoke to Prijanta and saw her access, at some point Vijay and someone else doing remote too going into Windows system stuff, BIOS stuff, Eufi stuff, nvidia, Harman Kardan, something called Waves Maxx Pro from Windows;
A bit after midnight (!) we rebooted for about the 10th time, she opened up a youtube video and we had sound. It was some obscure system32 setting on allowing quadraphonic speakers to back channel, accessed via a control prompt. After doing dozens of other things, so that might have been the last piece of the puzzle.
It wasn't hardware, headphones or other speakers weren't working either until then. Don't know if it was a Dell, Windows, or 3rd party thing, but I can damn sure tell you I would not have found it. And I am not lost fricking around making Linux run stuff run.
Bad: we expect Plug-and-Play in this day and age.
Good: I was sorta expecting an RMA slip to be sent, especially after the first few minutes. I thought we'd go through the motions on a few "you must be retarded, please turn on the speaker power and plug it into the correct port" directions... but we very quickly got past that point.
By the end of the night, once it was fixed and running, I was relieved and impressed. You ain't getting the guys from Computer Heaven on the phone, doing remote-access work for 2+ hours after 10pm on a Thursday, after I watched the end of the LSU-Wake Forest baseball game.
Amazing customer/tech support.
This post was edited on 6/23/23 at 1:15 pm
Posted on 6/23/23 at 2:06 pm to Scoob
Depending on how old they are and what kind of bearings they use, your old fans could be approaching end of life. You get more bearing wobble/grind at lower rpm.
Posted on 6/23/23 at 4:30 pm to Joshjrn
quote:Bunch of Corsair fans...
Depending on how old they are and what kind of bearings they use, your old fans could be approaching end of life. You get more bearing wobble/grind at lower rpm.
We replaced a couple that were getting bad, but even when the fans are 'silent', there's the airflow. We set the cyberpower boxes with about 8 extra fans, they are quiet, but there's a lot of air moving. Enough to move sheets of paper nearby.
Posted on 6/23/23 at 4:54 pm to Scoob
Sometimes it’s air movement, which is unavoidable, but it can also be turbulence. Fans pressed up against grates, filters, or radiators are louder than unobstructed fans. Even getting a fraction of an inch of clearance makes it better.
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